How to Remove Glue from Hardwood Floor Naturally
How to remove glue from hardwood floor naturally. It is exciting trying to remove your long-time floor carpets, of course, because you know that you have a shining hardwood floor underneath the carpets. Well, lifting a carpet off will not take much time and effort.
However, after lifting the carpets, your excitement is brought to an abrupt end, having discovered that your hardwood floor has a thick adhesive glue over it. The next thing that comes to mind is how exactly the glue will be removed from the hardwood, especially after considering how expensive it is to fix or repair it.
Removing the glue from the hardwood requires a lot of care as you won’t want to damage the floor.
All at a Glance
What are the materials that can help in removing glue from hardwood floors
The things you will need include; towels, floor scraper, gloves, commercial adhesive removers, dry ice, metal cooking sheet, heat gun, lubricants, masks, hot water
Lubricants are most effective for removing glue from the hardwood floor because glue originally was in a liquid state before it got dried on the hardwood, and returning it to its original condition will only make it easier to remove it.
Commercial adhesive removers are chemical solutions that could be used to remove the glue; these chemicals must be studied to know if they won’t cause more harm to the wood than the original purpose for its application. It is safer to apply it on a very small surface first to see the effect of its usage.
Heat is also a significant and efficient way of removing glue. When the glue is heated, it melts and loosens. This makes it easier to wipe off the glue from the wood surface.
Hot water could also be used for removing glue. Heat guns can also be used to melt the glue. Jelly oils, vegetable oil, and other household products like vinegar can also effectively serve as natural aids to remove the glue.
What are the steps required to remove glue from hardwood floor
Hot Water Method
If you are using the hot water method, boil enough water, soak a towel into the hot water. Be careful not to burn your hands. The steam could hurt the hands if not careful. Place the already dampened towel on the glue surface for a while.
The glue should melt and come off easily. You can scrape off the stubborn leftover of glue from the hardwood, and if the glue still does not come off ultimately, the process should be repeated till the glue has been completely wiped off.
The Heat Gun
If using the heat gun, place the already plugged heat gun on the glue surface to reheat the glue. Once the glue melts, it becomes easy to wipe it off, so wipe it off with a dry towel; you might also have to repeat the procedure if it does not come off entirely at the first attempt.
Commercial Products
Chemical solutions may be harmful to the hardwood if not correctly applied. The chemicals are powerful, so you might need to put on gloves and masks to protect yourself from the effect for safety.
Apply the chemical on the material and then wipe the hardwood surface; you can try it on a small surface first to see if the outcome would be positive or negative. Place the material with the chemical on the glue and leave it for a while. You can now use the scraper to remove the glue from the surface gently.
Dry Ice
Another method that can be used is the ice method. Like commercial products, you will need to protect yourself with gloves and masks because dry ice is potent. The dry ice can be placed on a metal cookie sheet large enough to cover the glue surface; if it’s not large enough, you might need to repeat the process to obliterate the glue.
Place the metal cookie directly on the adhesive glue for some minutes. This will harden and crack the adhesive. This method is regarded as the quickest and cleanest removal of floor adhesives.
By the time you remove the cookie sheet, you will use the scraper to lift the cracked pieces of adhesives, do not forget to use gentle and soft pressure because as much as you want to remove the adhesive, you still do not want to damage your floor.
Natural Household Products
Household products like vinegar, mayonnaise, orange peels can naturally remove the adhesive glue from the hardwood without damaging the wood surface.
If you are using vinegar, soak a clean towel into white vinegar, squeeze the rag and dab the glue with it, you should dab the rag on the glue in small amounts until it becomes soft and loose.
Gently roll off the glue with your hands. Vinegar is an excellent natural product option as your hardwood is safe from the fear of it being ruined by chemical products.
If you want to try the mayonnaise method, soften the glue spot with mayonnaise, the mayonnaise contains oil that can soften the glue to make it easy to take it off.
Allow the mayonnaise to stay on the glue spot for some minutes, after which you wipe it off with a clean cloth. If the glue doesn’t come off entirely at the first approach, you may need to repeat the processes until the glue comes off completely.
Oranges contain citric acids that help remove adhesive glue from hardwood surfaces. The peel of the orange should be placed on the glue surface for a while, let’s say about 10_15 minutes, remove it and wipe the surface with a cloth.
Also, like other methods, if the glue doesn’t come off completely, you repeat the process. Discoveries have also been made of how sandpapers could also be a source of removing adhesives from hardwood surfaces. It has a straightforward application, but if not done with care, it may cause damage to the hardwood.
Place the sandpaper on the glue surface flatly and with medium pressure to make light forward and backward. Please make sure the surface you are applying the sandpaper on is the one that has the adhesive glue stain on it so as not to damage the wood surface.
Wipe the surface with a soft cloth to remove the remaining glue from the wood. Ensure to check if you haven’t sanded any of the wood and it was only the glue surface.
Conclusion – How to Remove Glue from Hardwood Floor Naturally
Whatever the approach you are using in all of these outlined methods, be careful not to apply too much force on the hardwood. As much as you want the glue off the floor not to ruin the beauty, you also do not want to damage the floor.
If you have fear regarding using the commercial products because of the fear of it damaging the wood surface, you can apply one of the natural methods to remove the adhesive glue from the wood surface.
Important Reads:
